Lifestyle & Culture

New on Passport: Fortune, fame and fun across Europe in one place

We created Passport, a place where we – and you – can post anything from the sushi festival to your startup’s pitch to investors. Think Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs … where to find not just housing and careers, but fulfillment, friends, and fun across Europe.

Here’s what’s new ….

This is how the world (and life in general) works: When the economy is flat or in recession, nice housing is cheap and easy to find. Right now, Europe is on fire, and it’s getting more and more difficult to find a great house or apartment to rent or to buy.

A major tech center, Eindhoven is kind of a barometer for the fiscal health of Europe. Only two years ago, in the summer of 2015, we had our choice of great places at discount prices. Houses that weren’t selling were on the market as rentals.

We saw one 3-bedroom penthouse going for 1,500 euros per month.

We weren’t ready to sign … we were on a research trip. But that trip convinced us Eindhoven was the place at least partly because an apartment here was maybe 33 percent less expensive than Berlin.

That’s a big deal.

One year later, we could see trends were reversing. Houses started selling and the rental market started tightening.

THIS 7-BEDROOM FARMHOUSE IN LEENDERSTRIJP IS GOING FOR 2,450 EUROS PER MONTH

This year, our friend Gerrie Royackers at Best Intermediair says she has exactly one house for rent.

For 2,450 euros per month, you get a house that’s actually in our lovely village of Leenderstrijp. a 7-bedroom converted farmhouse (this is horse country) with 300 m2 of living space, or about 3,200 square feet. It has two garages and a big gated area for pets or whatever.

It’s on a small commons in the center of the village, and our favorite café is a 2-minute walk. Just a few steps farther is an incredibly well-stocked village cooperative grocery.

All this is on the edge of the Leenderbos, one of the best biking-and-hiking areas in the Netherlands, and just 15 minutes from the center of Eindhoven and 25 minutes to the International School of Eindhoven.

We recommend Gerrie without reservation.

Her email is: [email protected]

– Terry Boyd

More in Eindhoven:

Family house completely furnished close to High Tech Campus Eindhoven
€1,750

Super nice furnished family house close to the High Tech Campus Eindhoven

For more info check this link: http://friendlyhousing.nl/en/All-rentals/Zijpendaal-1

To make an appointment for a viewing, please call Friendly Housing or send an email to [email protected].

• Germany:

Bloomberg has a post today, “Germany’s Housing Market is Hot, But Don’t Call it a Bubble,” declaring it a seller’s market, with too many buyers and not enough houses.

From that post:

Germany’s residential property market has taken off in the last seven years, with apartment prices in the biggest cities rising more than 60 percent, according to Deutsche Bank AG. In Munich, they’ve doubled in value. The result? Homes in 127 German cities were overvalued by as much as 30 percent last year, the government said in a June report, adding that the low level of private indebtedness means the risk of a “correction” appears to be small.

• Luxembourg:

The elegant little duchy of Luxembourg is one of the hottest economies in Europe right now. Amazon, Netflix and other American digital companies are expanding there. So, per the law of supply and demand, housing is getting more difficult to find.

Here’s a crowdsourced list of real estate companies that get good ratings (and where agents speak English):

Planete Immobiliere Sàrl

Ab-lux.com

Livin.lu

Luxembourg Expats

Fame

Casting Producer Evelyn Bradfield is looking for expats in Brussels to interview: is looking for expats in Brussels to interview:

Bradfield is a producer for LeopardUSA which produces such reality TV shows as House Hunting International.

I am a Casting Producer for an international travel television show about expats who are moving abroad! We love filming in Belgium and we are very interested in coming there more often for our show. Below is our casting call – Thanks in advance!

Have you recently made the biggest step in your life by moving to a new country? Then we want to hear your story! We are looking for energetic individuals, couples, and families who want to share their adventurous experience of moving abroad to a new country! Our show will document your move and give you the opportunity to have fun and interesting experiences in your new location.

If you are interested in participating in our show and you would like to learn more, please private message me or email me at [email protected].

Our company is Leopard USA.

Please be sure to include: your contact information, a picture of yourself/your family and tell me about yourself and your move! We are looking for expats coming from all over the world, but you must speak English fluently to be eligible for our show. Thanks so much for your time and I look forward to hearing from you! And please feel free to repost and share with friends!

Jobs

SwitchUp, which is creating a smart assistant app in Berlin, is looking for a CTO (Ruby on Rails)

Here’s their pitch:
Ruby: You spent a good number of years developing a deep understanding of RoR
Passion: You don’t just want to lead, but are passionate about coding yourself
Big picture: You keep the big picture in mind in everything you do
#Backbone #Ruby#Rails#PostgreSQL

You can apply for the job here.

• Our Dispatches staffers found this gig in Sweden with a Norwegian startup was really interesting:

General Manager Otovo Solar

Looking for the most ambitious and entrepreneurial manager in all of Sweden!????????????
Founded only 18 months ago, Norwegian startup Otovo Solar has already raised ≈€9,6 million, launched products, attracted customers, and is experiencing a steep revenue curve. Otovo builds software that helps people decide on going solar and runs a network of installers that make it happen in the real world.
You will be the general manager of Otovo Sweden, including building the brand, building an organisation for sales and operations on the ground in Sweden, and linking up partners on the platform.
Otovo offers compensation that’s competitive with other venture backed tech companies, including shares/stock options.

Fun

• There’s a Sushi Festival coming up next month in Eindhoven. Our little city will be a “sushi wonderland” with mobile stands, several Japanese chefs, sushi workshops, a Japanese culture festival, Geishas, dancing and much more, according to the website.

Pre-register here and you might win a free ticket.

• There’s a vegetarian/vegan Indian Cooking Workshop scheduled for 10 September in Amsterdam.

Here are the details:

Hello all, 

Do you like Indian food? Do you prefer to eat vegetarian or vegan food? Would you be interested in learning, talking and discussing about Indian food? 

What would you get out of it?
It won’t be just another cooking workshop. The objective is to make this into an interaction based cooking activity. Where we talk about the anthropology of Indian food. Discuss answers to questions like why vegetarianism is so big in India? Why India has one of the lowest cancer rates in the world? What are the basics of Indian food? How different are regional cuisines of India? 

Along with all of this, I would prefer to cook together 4-5 vegetable dishes. Have some drinks and have a great networking over this! (Pls feel free to bring your own drinks. Drinks not provided)

Price: 35 € per person
Location: Tugelaweg 121A, 1091VV, Amsterdam

So, who is in?

Call me to reserve yourself a spot+31638057205.

Regards,

Chandan

Please note: The venue can accommodate only 10 people. It will be first come, first served!

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